Page 73 of Captured Innocence

“How so? I was always bratty, or so I remember you telling me.”

“Stronger. More self-reliant. As if nothing and no one could ever wreck you.”

While I adored every word he said in praise, a wave of heat drifted across my jaw. “You might be surprised.”

“Nothing about you will surprise me.” He wiped my face, taking his time to rub the dirt and grime away. I could see concern in his eyes, but a smile remained on his face, his eyes lighting up the entire time he was performing the intimate deed.

Then he tossed the towel, easing me off the counter and struggling to move us both through the narrow doorway. When he almost dropped me, we both laughed. Then he moved toward the window of the train, lowering me onto my feet.

“I thought I lost you. Again,” he said quietly. “That made me want to burn down the world.”

“Why?”

“Why did the thought of you being hurt make me violent?”

“Why do care about me so much?”

He smirked, glancing away briefly. “Because the first moment I laid eyes on you, I haven’t been the same. I’m not a good man, certainly not decent enough for you, princess, but with us together, we can rule the world.”

“What if all I want is a family?” I was testing him more than anything, uncertain I would ever consider bringing a child into this world.

His lust-filled eyes make me swoon all over again. “We’ll have one, la mia gattina perfetta.”

A quietness settled us, only this time it wasn’t unnerving. It was deepening our connection, which I didn’t think possible.

“What now, my glorious beast?”

He laughed at the term I’d used, turning me around slowly. “Now I take the last remaining part of you. After this, you’ll belong to me body and soul.”

CHAPTER 21

Mattia

My God, the woman was a handful. I hadn’t anticipated her behavior by a long shot. I’d thought she’d been pampered, but she’d been trained, not just in self-defense but with weapons and it hadn’t come from D’Artagnan. He would have told me.

That meant Lucia had likely encouraged her.

My princess was very capable, certainly not immune to firing off a shot or two from any weapon. She could have no idea how much that turned me on. There was nothing sexier than a strong woman, one who could hold her own with any man.

The mere thought of losing Sophia had almost done me in.

I was enraged, so much so that there were only two things I could think about at this point.

Killing.

And fucking.

The need to protect her was a given, my mind still processing the events that had transpired, including the asshole who’d either followed us to the train station or had known where we were going. One way or another, I would find out.

But if she’d died, I would have burned down more than just the dark forests near Paris. I would have torched the fucking world.

Me, the man who’d sworn his entire life that he needed no one; the guy who’d perfected the art of remaining a happy bachelor. Only I hadn’t been happy the majority of my life. The single experience with the luscious dark-haired girl had almost driven me mad.

Now I reclaimed her in a way I hadn’t imagined. As she pressed her hands against the glass, the world spinning by at rapid speed, I only wished our moment of intimacy could last forever. I knew better, but the beautiful respite was necessary for both of us.

I rolled my fingertips down her back, marveling in the softness of her skin. I remained angry at what the assholes had done to her, determining what she’d been through and why she’d been taken high on the list of objectives, but no one would take this away from me.

No one.

---